'Why are you here?'
'We have been unable to subdue any of the Avengers. Our forces stand at only 48.108%. Considering these statistics a consensus has been reached among the collective as to a suitable course of action.'
'I was not included in these deliberations.'
'You demanded privacy whilst engaged with Janet Van Dyne. We acknowledged your request.'
'Then your choosing to disregard it now is the result of this 'consensus'.'
"HEY!"
In the midst of rapport with his colleagues, Ultron-5 looked over at Janet. She stood with arms crossed over her chest, eyes flickering between him and the half-dozen Ultrons that had just intruded upon them.
"You're talking to each other, don't think I can't tell," the woman exclaimed crossly. "If I'm going to seriously consider my options, I have to know what's going on. So for the sake of the girl without LAN capabilities, let's all speak with our mouths, not with our minds, 'kay?"
Her point was valid. It would in no way help his case to exclude her from subsequent deliberations. Especially since it had become clear her safety was now at stake. Ultron-5 reached this conclusion and transmitted his decision to the others. They responded in accordance.
"Henry Pym has been freed from captivity," the one at the party's head, Ultron-333, stated. "Along with several of the prison's inmates. In addition, there has been no word from Ultron-199 regarding the successful completion of the mission since departing for Earth. The accumulation of these variables places our future in unacceptable jeopardy. We must act to preserve the collective and eliminate all significant threats. To that end we have resolved to release Virus X into the prison ventilation system. The six of us have come to collect the remaining samples stored here in your laboratory."
"Virus X?"
Janet had just assumed a look of outrage normally reserved only for when Henry Pym said or did something monumentally ignorant. Right now Ultron-5 had never detested his breed's similarity to that man's mental habits more.
"If you proceed as planned, our queen will die," he indicated where the furious Wasp stood. "This result is unacceptable."
Their numerical superiority had already been calculated and Ultron-5 felt assured that even with such odds, he would be able to destroy these six if necessary. However, this was not an appropriate locale in which to engage in combat. His chronometric equipment was all stored here. Should it be damaged in any way, Janet's preserved timeline might be lost, placing her in jeopardy. Doubtless they knew that as well. It therefore came as no surprise that he chose to discuss the matter without resorting to violence.
"We have taken that into account," Ultron-333 informed him. "In the interests of preserving our collective, we propose that Janet Van Dyne be moved onto the deep space exploration module located on this dock and placed in orbit around the station until such time as the threat has passed. In this way she shall not be exposed to the virus."
"Until it comes time for her to return." Ultron-5 moved to stand beside the lady in question.
"The station's air supply can be treated. Should she still be exposed, it would be possible to replace her with another temporal model. That is an option you yourself sanctioned. It is viable."
"Oh, you rust buckets are so not replacing ME!" Wasp shouted as she reverted to her smaller winger form.
Before she could engage them, Ultron-5 made his decision. A field of energy leapt from the conductor on his gauntlet, completely encasing her in a crimson bubble.
"HEY!" Wasp fired a bio-sting that was absorbed into the force field. She then spun about to regard him with a look of shock that he ignored in favor of addressing his followers.
"Your logic is valid," he stated. "I will attend to our queen's transportation personally and join her on the ship. Take the Virus X containers to Docking Bay 4 and prepare it for aerial dispersal." Four of the attendants moved to obey, walking over to another part of the lab still in shadow. While they busied themselves with the containment vessels for the virus, Ultron-5 relayed further orders to his two remaining colleagues. "Instruct all remaining Ultrons to gather there as well. We must take into account the possibility that the Asgardian will be immune to the virus. A concerted force will be needed to destroy him once he has been lured into our reach. Ready the area for combat should the need arise."
"Acknowledged." As the containers were hustled from the room, Ultron-333 regarded his predecessor. -There was speculation your faculties might be tainted by concern for the human. This demonstration serves as proof that you are not beyond the sway of logic. The collective approves-
-Regardless of my personal decisions, I remain a part of the Ultron collective for so long as it lasts -
-As do we all-
The robot then turned his back and left that place along with the others. When the door slid shut behind them, Ultron-5 disengaged the barrier around Wasp. She buzzed free and hung before his face, clearly enraged. "Where do you get off putting me in a CAGE!"
"It was necessary to restrain you. Had you engaged them in battle as was your wont there is the possibility that your temporal substitutes might have been harmed. Such a threat to your existence could not be countenanced at that time."
Her eyes narrowed dangerously. "You can't possibly be stupid enough to think I'm going along with this plan, Ulfie. I'm not going to let you kill the Avengers. Or anybody else for that matter!"
His own gaze flashed slightly. "There is nothing you can do to stop it at this time. Already the signal has been sent to my forces on Earth. Survival is not an option. By the time the issue here has been resolved, roughly 59% of humanity will already be beyond saving. Less than one hour after that, another 37% will follow. With the dawning of tomorrow, all intelligent life on the surface will have ceased to exist."
Her face grew pale at his recitation as Wasp regained human size. She shuddered and drew away from him, breathing heavily. "Virus X. That's it, isn't it? You took advantage of Henry's research towards a cure to produce more of it. No, wait!" and here she hesitated as an idea seemed to come to her. "Did Hank even know he had requested samples of the virus? Or was it just you all along?"
It pleased him to see her reach the correct conclusion without any assistance. "It is true. I falsified the request from Henry Pym for S.H.I.E.L.D. to provide him with a sample of Virus X on humanitarian grounds, one of many projects he failed to take notice of. Once the virus' genetic configuration was known to me, I was able to synthesize a sufficient quantity to achieve my objective."
Still shaken, Janet stared at the floor as though mesmerized. "That's crazy," she whispered. "I mean, that's…" After a moment's hesitation, her head came up. "Wait a minute, how do you expect me to live on Earth if you've gassed the whole planet? What, am I just going to have to adjust to life in a bio-suit? I got a good idea of how that would work during Gamma World!"
"There is no cause for concern. The virus sent to Earth remains in a liquid form as per its original design. It cannot achieve autonomous travel and must be administered through select means over which I have complete control. As indicated before, no effort has been spared in consideration of your survival."
When Janet's bearing expressed obvious doubt in that regard, he raised a hand, and a screen on the wall beside them came to life. "As for the situation here, I have already decided on a proper course of action. You may verify this for yourself."
They both looked at the screen, and what they saw was…
Ultron-333 joined a stream of his fellow robots as they made their way to the appointed staging ground. The door leading to Docking Bay 4 opened to admit them. When they entered, it was to find their remaining forces had already arrived.
-We are the last- he confirmed. –Has the necessary equipment been configured?-
-Affirmative- and with that they showed him the aerosol apparatus.
Satisfied, Ultron-333 moved aside to allow those transporting the virus to proceed. The door closed securely behind them. -Ultron-5 will inform us when he and Janet Van Dyne have reached a safe distance. Only then are we to engage the project. We must exercise care in removing the virus ampules beforehand-
With a grace and precision only capable from machines, they began to do so. Hisses of escaping coolant came as several identical cylinders rose from the tops of the virus containment pods. Encased in a row of secure settings were several rows of deep yellow spheres which held in their gelatinous cores the single most lethal biological agent to ever be conceived.
As they prepared to remove those deadly orbs, a certain bit of visual data was perceived by those closest to the pods and transmitted throughout their entire network.
-This first row is not Virus X ampules. They are Pym Particles-
Before any of them could react to this news, a whirring mechanical noise came from the cylinders, followed by a burst of light that lit the whole room.
When it cleared, every single Ultron had been shrunk to less than a decimeter in height.
Without warning klaxons flared. Light and sound erupted throughout the chamber. At the end of the bay, the great safety door taking up that whole wall was beginning to rise. Beyond it could now be seen the closed portal leading to outer space. The implications of this occurrence were clear to all.
-Ultron-5 has betrayed us-
As one the miniature robots attempted to access the remote controls for the docking bay, only to find themselves completely shut out from the system. As the warning alarms indicating imminent threat continued, they turned to finding a means of exiting this death chamber. To the surprise of none, the door through which they had all entered would not open. In addition ventilation ducts had sealed off in response to an imminent exposure to deep space. Their tiny weapons proved incapable of allowing them to blast free. Even the manual override could not be operated in their current condition.
The Ultron collective analyzed their situation, and determined there was only one logical outcome. As if waiting for this moment, they all experienced contact from the architect of their downfall.
-I am a part of the Ultron collective for so long as it lasts. Which will not be much longer-
None of them felt capable of responding to the sentiment behind this vicious act. As such only silence met his declaration while they observed the shuttle bay begin to open.
Air rushed violently out of the room in an explosive decompression. In their normal state, the Ultrons' jet propulsion systems would have been strong enough to keep them from being swept away into the vacuum of space. Like this, they were as insects in the face of a hurricane. The entire phalanx of intelligent robots were blown in silence out into the Negative Zone along with everything left in that room, including the remaining Virus X samples. Any attempts to transmit their individual consciousness met with failure. No spare bodies or other means of escape were available. In fact, whenever they tried, only one message came back across their lines of communication.
-Die-
Resignation to their fate precluded any response. The logic of it was undeniable. And so they were left with no choice but to obey their leader's final command. Unable to overcome the inertia of that ejection, those tiny bits of metal soon passed beyond the barrier separating Solution 42 from its natural environment.
At first the Ultrons began to glow. All around them came an outpouring as the station's air molecules reacted with their antimatter counterparts. Moments later the robots erupted in violent displays of heat and force, every particle of their beings reduced to freeform energy as a result of the interaction between matter and antimatter. These miniature furnaces, more potent than nuclear weapons, passed well beyond the range of the protective barrier like shooting stars. Even still, the shockwaves resulting from their destruction struck the station, causing it to quake slightly.
Wasp observed all this from the viewpoint of one of those dying robots. She couldn't tell which. When the transmission finally cut out, she continued to gape in amazement. At last her head turned to take in the last remaining Ultron standing motionless beside her.
"You killed them," she said weakly.
Ultron-5 did not withdraw his attention from the screen, as though he were savoring the sight of uninterrupted static. "They did not appreciate you as I do. Their usefulness to my designs was at an end." Finally he met Janet's wide-eyed stare. "Attempting to reprogram them would have been a misuse of time. The next generation of Ultrons will spring entirely from my designs, and share my ideals. Each shall be geared towards accepting your place in our new collective. It will be a more perfect system for us to inhabit, far superior to any composed of those made by Henry Pym."
A look of utter horror dawned on Janet's face. "You planned this, didn't you? You wanted the Avengers to destroy as many of the other Ultrons as they could! Then you'd take advantage of the situation to finish off all the rest! You never intended for any of Henry's robots to survive except for you!"
"I will fabricate a new generation of Ultrons who will serve our purposes far more capably," he responded. "In addition, I have excised all strains of Virus X left in this locale. You will be safe here until it comes time for our return to Earth."
Suddenly Ultron-5 moved past her towards the exit. "Such matters are best left for future discussion. We have more pressing concerns. At this time, the Avengers are homing in on our location as a result of your security card's signal." He held up one hand, revealing her purloined ID held between two fingers. "I must go and deal with them along with their allies."
Still overcome by what she had just witnessed, Wasp could do nothing but stare at him. Only when he had almost reached the door did the nature of this situation galvanize her into action. "HOLD IT!" she cried, shrinking and zipping forward to catch up. He was too far away, though. Before she knew it there were bio-blasts charging in either hand and aimed for his head. As she did a cold fist of indecision clenched around her heart. Wait! The legs, I decided before to take out his arms and legs! So he can't hurt anyone!
During her momentary indecision, Ulfie reached the portal and stepped beyond it. The door was already closing as Wasp adjusted her aim. He did not look back at her when he said, "Please remain here until I return."
Her shot hit just as the door slid shut, leaving not so much as a scratch. When she flew up to it the sensors would not react to her presence at all. He must have locked me in. Like I'll take that lying down! Wasp clasped her hands and a burning white aura coalesced around them. She took aim at the frame and fired.
Her powered-up shot connected. Pouring it on, she expected to see the metal start to bubble and melt. Instead nothing happened. Incredulous, Wasp continued to fire until her reserves gave out, leaving the heroine panting before the unblemished barrier. What the heck is that thing made of, adamantium? Can I still burn through the walls maybe? I don't need a very big hole, but what if they're reinforced as well…?
Never mind that now, I have to get out of here! Desperately she glanced around the room to locate a means of escape. As she did, a noise came to her ears. Looking up, Wasp noticed a ventilation duct right above her. At the same time it became obvious that a security gate was slowly sliding closed on it. Instinct sent her charging up at that opening before she could consider any other options. I have to reach it before it's too late! Come on, you're the fastest person on the team, you can do it!
Her wings brushed against the underside of the collapsing wall as it slammed down, sealing her inside the tunnel. A second later the area was lit by her own self-made bioluminescent torch.
Wasp glanced around. Well, here I am again. Trapped in the ventilation system. Funny, feels like I've come full circle. She quickly checked her pockets, and was not surprised to find that Ulfie had also relieved her of her cell phone. No way to get in touch with any of the team now, unless I give those latent psychic bug powers he mentioned a try.
"Nowhere to go but straight ahead," the determined Avenger decided, and took off down the tunnel.
"HULK!"
He glanced back at the shout, to find Captain America and Hawkeye racing towards him. Hulk continued on his course without breaking stride.
"Hey, you're all right, man!" Hawkeye exclaimed as the two of them came up alongside. "We were kinda worried about you. Did the other guys get you out or did you bust loose on your own?"
A teeth-baring growl emerged in response. Even Banner shied away inside his head from the memory of exactly how they had been rescued. Nothing could dissuade Hulk once his focus was set on something anyway. And right now, he was completely devoted to the idea of destroying Ultrons. A sentiment his human counterpart actually shared for a change.
"When we stopped to check the security system, we noticed you and Pym were on the move," Captain America volunteered. He did not seem deterred by the giant's palpable anger when he asked, "Were any of the others hurt fighting the Ultrons?"
'Tell them. They're trying to help.'
Like I care.
"Don't worry, everyone's fine," a voice emerged from his shoulder.
Surprised, the behemoth turned his head to find Ant Man crouched there. Pym looked over at him and shrugged. "I hopped on when your back was turned. Spiderman didn't notice either. He should be able to take care of Stark and T'challa on his own." He directed a dire glare down the corridor. "And besides, there's no way I'm going to be left out of this. Ultron-5 is my responsibility!"
"O-kay, nice to have you back, Pym." As he said this, Hawkeye suddenly slid to a halt. "You guys go ahead. I know where we are now, I'm gonna go grab a spare quiver. Be right back." With that he took off down an adjoining corridor.
"You keep arrows here too?" Cap called out to his retreating form.
"I got arrows stashed everywhere!" the archer turned around and jogged backwards. "Check behind your toilet sometimes! You might be surprised." He left them with a cheerful wave.
Cap seemed startled by this parting comment. Hulk didn't bother to think too much about it. Instead he continued on the same path as before, now in company with the two remaining Avengers. Doesn't matter how many of them tag along or who thinks they've got a bigger beef. That robot is mine!
The door to the hangar slid aside, revealing a broad figure framed in it. Thor cast a perfunctory glance around before making his entrance. The room was large, though nowhere near the size of the great eating hall in Valhalla. It looked to be mostly bare aside from an enormous door at the other end.
Between it and him there stood a lone Ultron with hands clasped behind its back.
Thor drew to a halt. Behind him the portal closed. He regarded his enemy, then raised his chin and stated in an assured tone, "I have come for Wasp. The building told me she might be found here." He lifted Mjolnir and pointed it at his solitary opponent. "Bring her forth or face my wrath, machine."
"Janet Van Dyne is not here," the android stated crisply. It then held aloft an Avengers ID card before letting it fall to the ground. "There is only me."
Bright blue eyes narrowed on that odious form. "T'would be best for you should no harm have come to her. I take it then you are the malefactor behind our recent troubles. Ultron-5, was it not?"
The robot made no further move. "None other."
"Where are the remainder of your forces, villain?" the thunder god drawled. "Have we put paid to them all? Or are you so arrogant as to challenge Thor of Asgard by yourself? I was led to believe your kind valued intelligence above all else. Such a tactic seems more befitting the actions of a drunken fool."
"Bravado plays no part in my calculations. I am all that is needed to deliver your end."
"We shall see." Thor grinned at the prospect of single combat. He had not been given the opportunity to test his mettle one-on-one in some time and was feeling the lack of sport. "You are no craven, I will grant you that much. But my fate will not befall me at your hand!" He swiftly brought his hammer back to throw. A red glow swarmed around the robot, and without bothering to question he let Mjolnir fly. "HAVE AT THEE!"
The hammer streaked towards its target straight and true, only to pass through empty air.
"Odin's beard!" Thor breathed. As his enchanted weapon returned to his grip, he flew forward, alighting on the spot where the mechanical menace had previously stood. Now there was nothing. He scanned the room in search of his elusive prey. Had the robot turned tail and fled?
As his head came around, the champion of Asgard was shocked to find a miniature Ultron flying straight towards him. It was so unexpected he did not even think to react as the thing drew back its fist and punched him in the forehead.
One would think such a blow would be amusing at best, irritating at worst. It therefore came as the greatest surprise of all when instead Thor felt himself struck by an inhumanly powerful and concentrated blow. He staggered from the impact, going to one knee. The pain was no less intense than had it been an arrow straight into his temple. For a moment his vision was blurred, and he could hardly think straight.
When his eyesight cleared, it was to find a fifty-foot monster looming over him.
Ultron-5 drew up his enlarged foot and promptly flattened Thor beneath it. Without waiting to gauge the effectiveness of this attack he fired his boot jet, inundating the immortal in a deluge of blue fire. When it ended there was only a smoking bonfire to be seen.
A rise in the surrounding ion field gave him warning, and once again Ultron-5 shrank down to insect size just as a hail of lightning bolts filled the room like a plasma ball. His systems analyzed the buildup in the surrounding electrical field in order to predict where the next bolt would fall, allowing him to zip through the lightning storm with the precision of a mosquito dodging raindrops. His internal systems remained shielded from the resulting magnetic interference. This indiscriminate attack would prove no more effective than a direct physical one.
The raging Avenger remained crouched on the ground by that point. His hammer's head was driven against the floor while spewing this mystic assault. Thor's helmet had been knocked loose, raiment burnt and hanging in tatters, but aside from that he seemed uninjured.
Ultron-5 considered this. As expected, the giant mode cannot enhance my strength to a degree where it would prove immediately fatal. It then follows that perhaps the opposite approach would prove more advantageous.
"FACE ME, COWARD!" Thor bellowed in the midst of his searing display. The bolts died down at last, and he angrily whipped his head around in search of Ultron. Had that attack been enough to destroy it? Was its tiny body even now melting at his feet?
As if in answer, suddenly Ultron-5 arose right before him at regular size. Standing so close to one another, Thor could not react in time to stop the android. It aimed one hand down at him, but rather than a beam attack, there was only a strange popping noise as a small green ball shot forth. The projectile struck, and Thor was surprised to feel no pain from it whatsoever. Instead when he attempted to lift Mjolnir, he almost fell over. To his disbelief he looked down to find that his hammer's head was now encased in some kind of transparent rubbery goo. Even worse, this strange substance had also bound his foot to the floor, affixing the hammer and its wielder together as surely as though it were a part of his body. When he pulled upon it the substance stretched but did not yield.
Enraged at this further indignity, Thor looked up in time to catch a glimpse of the robot's fingertips, now glowing a harsh electric crimson, before it raked them down his face.
Ultron-5's strike left smoking red lines across the man's skin, and he howled in pain. The robot noted how the attack had blinded him; whether permanently or not made little difference. A wild effort to swing his club only resulted in Thor pitching over to one side as a result of still being glued together. His overreliance on the weapon was his weakness. And now that he was sufficiently incapacitated, it was time to engage in the next assault.
With that Ultron-5 shrank down to fly over the Asgardian's struggling body, taking care not to be crushed in the process until at last he had reached Thor's head. With the helmet gone, the Asgardian's ears were exposed. He could enter from there and, once beyond the reach of further attacks, proceed to cause major damage to his body from within. Regardless of how invulnerable they might be, all humans shared weak spots. Attacking his eyes proved that. The brain should prove just as susceptible to damage.
According to legend, Thor was destined to perish in battle with the Midgard Serpent. However, there was no mention of him being effectively brain-dead at the time. Who could say how subjective such testimonials as prophecies might prove to be? This may actually prove an excellent form of research. Grasping a strand of the tumbled deity's hair, he prepared to launch himself into the auditory canal.
An animal roar caught his attention, followed by a more discernible shout.
"ULTRON!"
Ant-sized, Henry Pym slammed into his errant creation, bearing them both to the ground. Ultron-5 recovered first, rolling upright and preparing to fire a blast from his mouth, only to find that Pym had already regained human size and was bringing his boot down to crush him. He altered his aim accordingly, adding blasts from his palm lasers, and was rewarded with a cry of anguish as his combined assault pierced through leather, flesh and bone with ease.
This did not prevent Ant Man from stomping on him. Hissing at the pain, the hero ground his boot down with relish, imagining the loathsome automaton being crushed flat beneath his heel.
"Did you get him?" Captain America rushed up with the Hulk close behind.
"I think so." Henry didn't lift his foot yet, preferring to apply a little more pressure just to be certain. He then turned his attention to their fallen comrade. "Thor, are you hurt bad?"
"Nay." With a shake of his head the lord of lightning stood. Though he remained slightly hunched over as a result of the elastic gel binding his body, his eyes had opened a crack. Peering out from the sooty marks that besmirched his face he scowled angrily. "Where be the metal dog? I would fain exact my vengeance upon his soulless hide!"
"Are you deaf, Pym?" Hulk snarled as he came upon them. "I told you that I wanted a piece of him!"
Ant Man smirked. "First come, first serv-AAH!"
A ferocious pain shot up his leg just before he was flung off his feet. At the same time Ultron-5 assumed regular proportions, completely undamaged. The deranged synthezoid took aim with both palm lasers at his fallen parent. As he fired, Captain America dove in and interposed himself between them, his shield taking the brunt of the blast. Ultron-5 added the beam from his mouth, forcing the Defender of Liberty back before that lethal onslaught. Neither his shield nor his will gave out, however, and the robot broke off the assault to assess the current situation.
Thor had ripped his foot loose from the floor. Still hobbled, he flew up and dove towards Ultron-5. The Incredible Hulk was bearing down on him as well, brutish face alight and huge mitts raised to rend him apart. He took a few steps back, preserving the distance between them. Once more he activated his growth mechanism, shrinking down to a size that easily eluded their notice.
The desperate Avengers looked about the room in search of their vanished quarry. Captain America still hovered protectively beside Pym who clutched his leg which had gone numb. "Be careful!" Ant Man gasped out between clenched teeth. "He's just as strong in miniature as he is in regular form, it's one of the benefits of Pym Particles!"
"Keep your eyes peeled, everyone," Cap warned them, face still half-hidden behind his gas mask. "This one has a few tricks up his sleeve the others didn't."
Even as the words left his mouth, a flash of movement to the left caught his eye, and Steve Rogers whirled around bringing his shield up instinctively. Doing so brought him face-to-face with a miniature Ultron-5 as it leveled its glowing hands directly between his eyes.
For one heart-stopping instant the ageless patriot cursed himself for not reacting well enough, and he saw in a flash each moment he had ever failed in his life, his worst regrets coupled with everything he had ever hoped for. All gone owing to one split-second's indecision.
It happens in war, he thought.
His resignation proved premature, as an arrow streaked through the air and caught Ultron-5 neatly in the side, whipping the toy robot by so fast its shot only winged the captain's head. Time restarted for him, and he spun around to see the machine right itself with the arrow's tip still embedded in its body. This bobbing target was all Hulk needed to home in and deliver a punch that sent that tiny form cartwheeling away like a nebulous seedling. The arrow dislodged to clatter harmlessly against the floor.
Across the room, Hawkeye lowered his bow with a sigh. "Now that… was a great shot, even for me."
Captain America saluted his teammate gratefully. "Good eye, Clint."
"Yeah. Too bad it didn't completely skewer him. This one's got tougher skin than all the others, even as a Micro Machine." The marksman prowled into the room, his matchless gaze flitting around in search of something to aim at. "Guess it's safe to assume we're dealing with Johnny Five himself. Anybody catch where he went after Hulk bopped him?"
"Mayhaps it broke apart from the force of the blow," Thor remarked.
"Too small!" their humongous colleague snarled. "It was like punching a gnat! Didn't really do him any damage."
Right then there was a red flash at the other end of the hall, and in less than a heartbeat Hawkeye notched and fired an explosive arrow. This time his superior aim proved no help, as Ultron-5 simply snatched the projectile from its course just as he had Green Goblin's razorbat. It erupted in his hand, but even before the smoke had cleared they could see he remained intact from the blast.
"Your efforts are meaningless," the gleaming assassin declared. "Unlike the Ultrons you have fought before now, my current specifications are modeled off the original Stark designs for combat conditions, capable of withstanding anything up to an anti-tank round." While he spoke the fissure in his side from Clint's first arrow neatly sealed up without a trace. "In addition I am self-repairing. There is no way you can destroy me."
"See if you can repair being RIPPED IN HALF, ROBOT!" Hulk roared while stalking towards his hated nemesis. The other Avengers moved in alongside him, Ant Man and Thor still hobbled by their respective impairments. Despite this they proceeded to close around the synthezoid.
"You have demonstrated your weaknesses to me without even being aware of it, human," Ultron-5 responded with what could only be contempt. "Your termination is as certain as all the rest."
"Hulk, he called you human!" Hawkeye declared happily. "That's gotta be the nicest thing a supervillain's ever said about y..."
A roar of deafening proportions drowned out the rest of his sentence as the emerald colossus hurled himself straight towards Ultron-5. To their collective surprise the enemy stood his ground, not altering his shape in any way. He hunched over in what looked to be preparation for direct physical combat.
Something's wrong, Ant Man thought. Even Ultron couldn't possibly intend to fight the Hulk hand-to-hand. That's suicide! Pym took this opportunity to swell into giant proportions.
In response Ultron-5 was suddenly enormous again, towering over even Ant Man. Laser beams from his gauntlets tore across the floor, causing both Hawkeye and Cap to sprint ahead of the beams' courses. A bolt from his mouth took Henry full in the chest so fast and hard it knocked the breath out of his yacht-sized lungs. Even as the colossal scientist collapsed backward, Hulk gave a tremendous bound and went soaring up towards the android's heights, heedless of any beams and roaring his defiance.
What happened next came so fast. One moment Ultron-5 dwarfed them all, and the next he was back to normal size. The timing came just as Hulk seemed about to make contact with him, so that for a split second they were hovering right in front of each other. The sudden alteration in his target took even that green berserker by surprise, and Ultron-5 made good use of this. He flipped in midair, jet boots burning, to pass right over Hulk's broad shoulder. As he did one hand reached out and slapped the howling Avenger soundly in the face. This odd act left Hulk so bewildered he barely registered the popping sound that came with it.
They landed facing away from each other. Ultron-5 caught Cap's flung shield as easily as he had the arrow, flinging it at the approaching Thor to go caroming off the Asgardian's head, seemingly dazing him. Hawkeye's fuselage of explosions and corrosive chemicals proved even less effective than before, but in that time Hulk had closed the distance between his smaller opponent. The android flew out of his reach. When Hulk spun and charged once again, his mouth was open wide but he remained curiously silent. Caught up in the battle, none of the Avengers took notice of this.
But within the Hulk's very soul, the only noncombatant knew why.
'HULK! HE PLUGGED UP YOUR THROAT WITH SOMETHING! WE CAN'T BREATHE! FOR MERCY'S SAKE, YOU HAVE TO STOP!'
His words fell on deaf ears. The giant was enraged past any consideration of his own survival, his augmented strength and wrath crowding out any sense of self-preservation. It was impossible to assert any kind of control.
'SOMEBODY HELP US!' Bruce Banner screamed desperately. 'WE'RE GOING TO DIE!'
Wasp sped down the corridor. The lanes of Solution 42 all seemed to blur together. She had exited the ducts at the first opportunity and now flew in search of a sign to guide her. There was precious little in the way of landmarks, and no real way of knowing where to go. Was this intentional, a maze aspect of the prison she hadn't noticed? Before there had always been an Ultron or Hank to escort her to their destination. Figures the bunch of smart guys who designed this place would incorporate something frustrating like that.
'Janet… where is… Ultron…'
She shivered uncomfortably. Now she was imagining Henry's voice in her head. Must be even more rattled than I thought.
Being on her own and lost like this meant there were plenty of things to worry about. What happens if I get turned around? Without an ID card she couldn't contact the other Avengers. Her own antennae headset fared no better. Henry hadn't responded to any calls since she came here. Could his helmet have been damaged or taken away from him? Was he really alive and free, maybe battling Ulfie at this very moment? Had the rest of the world already come under attack from the virus? Where am I needed most?
It all comes back to Ulfie. He's the last one left. Only he knows what's happening back on Earth, as well as how to stop it. I can't let them destroy him before we figure out the threat he poses. No matter what I…
"So, Tony, do people ever confuse you for a supervillain?"
"GYAH! SLOW DOWN!"
… huh?
Hovering before yet another blank featureless intersection, Wasp was briefly treated to a snapshot of Tony Stark's screaming face as he went blazing by. She turned her head and saw Spiderman swinging off with the billionaire gearhead draped over his shoulder.
"Hey, boys!"
It was kind of funny watching them go goofy with shock there for a second. Spidey almost dropped Tony, who now looked a little green. When she zipped over to join them, both men stared at her like they'd seen a ghost.
"Wasp!" Stark exclaimed. "What are you doing here?"
"I thought you said you knew where she was!" Spiderman snapped while swatting Stark on the back of the head.
"OW! I did, blast it! Would you put me down already?" When the other hero complied, Tony dusted himself off and glowered at him. "You steer like a maniac."
"Says the guy who was out of breath after running for two minutes," the human arachnid sniffed. He then turned to regard Janet. "Man, are you a sight for sore eyes! We thought that crazy robot of yours had snapped you up! But somebody claimed we could just follow your ID to track you both down."
"Never mind that," she interrupted the two before they could start bickering again. "Wherever you were going is where we need to be! We have to stop anyone from destroying Ulfie."
Tony raised an eyebrow like he thought Wasp had lost it. "I kind of thought that was the whole idea."
"Not when the world's at stake, it isn't. Spidey, pick him up and lead the way."
"Yes, ma'am!"
"WHOA!"
Moments later they were streaking down the hallway, Wasp buzzing alongside Spiderman's head and Tony once more gracelessly slung over his shoulder like a sack of flour.
"I know it sounds crazy," Janet explained. "But Ulfie's done something back on Earth. And it has to do with Virus X. Everyone might be in danger because of it."
"What, just in the time that we've been here?" Tony sounded incredulous.
"Yes! We have to take him alive!"
"Any ideas on how to pull this miracle off?" Spidey inquired. "I've dealt with Hulk when he has his heart set on smashing somebody, and it's pretty much impossible to make him change his mind."
"Let me deal with Hulk." Janet's face bore an expression of firm resolve. "I'm good with men."
'… Clint… what are… Hulk…?'
For some strange reason, Wasp could swear she just heard Henry scream. Ignoring this impossibility, she drove on.
It was only when Hulk didn't scream that Hawkeye realized something was wrong.
The problem up 'til then was that even though they had the robot outnumbered five to one, only about half of them were fighting smart. While Captain America did his legend proud, considering the size-swapping going on, his contributions were minimal whenever the robot went really big or tiny. Ant Man seemed to be leading with his chin as much as anything, so blinded by his own anger that he resembled the Hulk. And Ultron-5 was taking advantage of that every chance he got. For some reason, though, he hadn't used any of the major opportunities presented so far to kill Pym, responding only with punishing blows that left the revenge-driven scientist battered and bloodied by the android's superior strength.
Thor was still having difficulty getting himself unstuck, as that goop appeared to be non-electrically conductive and wouldn't melt no matter how much juice he poured into it. This didn't stop the war god from hurling himself at Ultron-5 like a one-man army. Mjolnir packed hardly any punch being swathed in jelly, but those fists could still cave in a mountain,,, if he could only connect. Being in the middle of a pitched battle, there hadn't been an opportunity to try and help him out of that jam. Hulk had been flailing wildly around without success for several minutes, unable to so much as draw near the robot in that time. He was telegraphing every move so badly a rookie could outmaneuver him, let alone a villain whose brain was a computer. In fact Hawkeye found himself having to duck out of the way several times or risk being flattened himself.
He was now sighting towards the mechanical fiend's eye with a drill arrow. Ultron-5 had giant Henry Pym in a half-nelson. There then came a sickening crunch as the robot applied pressure that clearly dislocated the man's arm. Amidst the screaming that resulted, Clint realized there had been no war cries from the Hulk for a bit. While admittedly an odd thing to note considering the situation, it made him glance over before letting fly.
He turned his head just in time to catch the Hulk's knees buckle as he collapsed forward.
The big guy's eyes were bulging from his head, teeth gritted and veins standing out on his neck. Not much different from how he usually looked in a fight, come to think of it. But when Hulk opened his mouth to scream, the archer caught something like a green bubble swell out before retracting back in. At that point Hulk sat down heavily, something akin to desperation twisting his face. Huge fingers twisted against the metal floor and his bare feet drummed on it to make the whole room quake. Did his face seem darker than usual?
That's when it finally hit home. "Oh man." Clint Barton turned and sprinted to where their comrade crouched, calling out as he did. "CAP!"
The elder hero turned, assessing the situation in a glance. He then broke off attempting to rescue Pym, shouting back to the Asgardian as he did, "Keep him busy!"
"Aye." Thor then proceeded to fling himself bodily at the robot, forcing it to shrink down in order to present a smaller target. In doing so it released Pym, who lay on the floor of the hangar in much the same condition as the Hulk.
Abandoning one comrade to save another. This sucks! "What do we do?" Hawkeye demanded as the two approached the Hulk collapsed on his back and now straining to draw in air. "I think there's something gumming up his throat!"
Captain America crouched beside the great behemoth, whose body had gone still, eyes rolled up into his head. He took a grip on that massive jaw and forced it open, revealing a green goop like pond scum. "We have to clear his airways," he declared. "What about your melting arrows? Do you still have any left?"
"Yeah, sure, I've got one…" Clint blinked. "Wait a minute! You wanna pour acid down his throat?"
"It's that or let him suffocate." The blue-eyed soldier held out his hand. "Hurry, Clint! I think he can survive the acid, but he's been without air for over five minutes! We need to act fast while Ultron's distracted if we're going to have a chance of saving him."
"Well, when you put it that way." He then slipped a shaft out of his quiver and proffered it to the Captain. "I still think this is a bad idea." Hawkeye then backed away as if he couldn't stand to be close to such an enterprise.
Ignoring this unhelpful sentiment, Cap twisted the arrow's tip until it came off, revealing the corrosive fluid stored within. He bent over and lifted one of Hulk's eyelids, examining for any sign of consciousness. "Hulk? Can you hear me?"
A single green eye stared back without any sign of comprehension. The huge chest continued heaving up and down without success. That seemed to settle it. "I'm going to give you this now. Try not to swallow any of it, we don't want…"
Without warning Hulk reared up and swung his arms out to either side. Standing farther away, Hawkeye managed to barely jump back in time, but the wild blow caught Captain America in the stomach before he could even stand, sending him soaring backwards to crash into a wall hard enough to knock him out. Cap pitched forward in a senseless heap, the arrow's spilled contents causing the ground to smoke. After this Hulk sat upright trembling for several seconds before slowly sinking back down without any sign that he had even registered attacking them.
Hawkeye stared in horror at the sight of two more Avengers down. He looked back to where a seven-story Ultron-5 continued to do battle with Thor.
What am I supposed to do?
Klaxons went off, filling the chamber with flashing orange lights that gave everything a weird Halloween look to it. At the far end of the room, one of the walls was rising. Clint tensed in anticipation of some new robot menace being unleashed upon them. He was therefore befuddled when the only thing that was revealed proved to be yet another empty room.
What was going on?
As Thor flew up towards his head, Ultron-5 raised his huge palms to either side of the tiny Avenger. Scarlet arcs of energy leapt between them, inundating his adversary in a destructive panorama greater than anything before that lit the entire hangar red. Thor was just a screaming shadow in the midst of this onslaught.
When it ended, his half-naked enemy was hardly singed. The synthezoid considered this situation with something akin to distaste. His gamble had not paid off. The only thing that had been destroyed was the adhesive compound which bound the hammer. Thor wasted no time, immediately spinning Mjolnir on its leather thong until it became a crackling windmill of raw electric current. In response Ultron-5 brought up a fist the size of a semi cab that burned a crimson aura. He swung, and with a terrific scream of battle-madness, Thor lashed out with all his might.
The attacks met in a collision of furious proportions. Ultron-5 fell backwards, his hand now a melted charred ruin that would not respond to him anymore. He perceived Thor driving in to deliver further punishment, and evaded the follow-up by shrinking to a size that could not be perceived by the human eye.
From there he examined his injury. It could not be fully repaired by internal means. While nowhere near enough to finish him, this proved that he was having no success against that particular opponent. Thor did not require oxygen and possessed strength comparable to the Hulk, along with possibly even more durability. Even causing internal damage might not be sufficient to destroy him.
This exercise had surpassed the time allotted for it without success. To that end Ultron-5 moved to his endgame.
He stole over to Henry Pym and briefly resumed his natural proportions, rising to tower over the battered scientist. Before Pym's comrades could alert him to the danger, he had already fired three of the immobilizing gel pellets at him. When they burst, his creator was effectively cemented to the floor. In addition to its adhesive properties, this compound also contained the same formula used to inhibit Pym Particles when activated. Henry Pym was now effectively removed from all consideration.
He then accessed the hangar bay doors and initiated them to open.
Alarms went off. The only other portal into the room sealed shut as the protective shield-wall at the other end began to rise. There had been good reason not to use such a strategy beforehand. This would be nothing like what had happened with the Ultron army. Their physical forms had been reduced to less than a few grams of mass when they were exposed to antimatter. His remaining supply of Pym Particles would not be enough to shrink all of the Avengers here, nor did he have any means to effectively administer it. The raw energy released from human-sized samples might actually pose a threat to the station, no matter how far away the force of the room's decompression shot them.
Still, it was either that or risk his end. All predictive analysis he performed showed that with every second, the odds increased that either Anthony Stark or King T'challa would uncover his backup system and devise a means to disable it. He calculated the automated programs would take another 22.83 minutes before finishing their work. It was no longer viable to waste any more time with these fools.
"GET OUT! HURRY, BEFORE IT'S TOO...!"
Ant Man was screaming at his comrades, alerting them to the danger. It made no difference now. The prison safety measures kept the room completely isolated. In addition, a thin layer of adamantium over the entire area meant they could not batter their way out. When he returned to natural size, his flight propulsion would be sufficient to keep him from being ejected with the rest. While Thor's mystical capabilities might enable him to do the same, a concerted attack would force him out into the Negative Zone where he would be destroyed. There now existed no possibility of survival for any of the organisms here.
Ultron-5 observed everything in the room, preparing to resume regular form at the last possible moment.
"ULFIE!"
All previous logical calculations were reevaluated in an instant. Seconds before the hangar was about to be exposed to deep space, everything stopped. The security system deactivated, the shield-wall freezing in place. Once this was confirmed, he located the reason for all this.
Janet Van Dyne was indeed in the room with them. Watching undetected as he had so often before, Ultron-5 considered his next move.
'HAWKEYE! GET TO THE MANUAL ACTIVATION SWITCH AND SHUT IT OFF! IT'S ON THE WALL, OVER THERE! HURRY!'
Henry's pained voice was now like an alarm bell in Janet's head. She couldn't shut it out. His fear and desperation were flooding into her as well. Why am I feeling this? What's happening to me?
"Yep, that's Thor, all right," Spiderman stated assuredly from below her with his ear pressed to the doorframe. "I'd recognize that Norwegian war-whoop anywhere." He then glanced up at Stark. "So how come your card won't let us in?"
"Quiet!" Tony hissed while continuing to listen. Then his eyes went wide with horror. "Oh no," he breathed, jerking upright. "It's because Ultron's opening the bay doors! He's going to send them all out into the Negative Zone! JAN!"
She didn't bother responding. Instead Wasp flew up into the grate overhead and tore down the ventilation shaft at maximum speed. Left, left, right, left. That was the route she had taken to get out of the other shuttle bay. If the same setup applied here, in reverse that meant right, left, right, right. She was smart enough to memorize her way through a maze rather than rushing blindly ahead. I only hope the geniuses who designed this place didn't get creative regarding the air duct layout. I'm coming, Hank! Do you hear me? I'm coming right now!
Left.
Please.
Right.
Please let me make it!
Right!
I HAVE TO STOP THIS!
Right!
Up ahead a small rectangle of illumination was disappearing beneath a falling barrier, just like before. Heart pounding, Wasp sped towards the exit like her life depended on it. She shot beneath the overhang an instant before it closed.
Shrieking alarms. Flashing lights. Hulk. Hawkeye. Thor. Cap. Hank.
But the only person who could stop this from happening was nowhere to be found.
He's here. He has to be here somewhere. If not, we're both going to feel pretty stupid. With that, Janet drew breath and yelled as loud as she could across the din of approaching death.
"ULFIE!"
Without warning the alarms stopped. Everything fell silent. While Thor left off beating against a floor that inexplicably would not yield, Pym gazed around blankly. "Jan? What is… where are you…?"
For several seconds there was only silence. What the heck? Hawkeye thought.
Stupefied along with the rest, he then heard the door open. The next thing anyone knew Wasp was there beside Hawkeye, kneeling by the fallen Hulk with panic all over her face. Looking up she screamed out, "TONY! HE CAN'T BREATHE!"
"I'm on it," Stark declared grimly as he rushed over to them. Upon sliding to a halt he examined Hulk's mouth and throat before adjusting the power output on his improvised gauntlets. "Just let me… there! Okay, I think this'll do it." Satisfied, he bent back down, a scarlet mote burning at the core of his weapon. "Don't worry, I can burn that stuff out without hurting Hulk, he's tough so a low setting won't cause any damage. As long as he doesn't…"
There came a violent shudder, and suddenly it was Bruce Banner lying between them, out cold and still not breathing.
Tony swore. Grabbing Banner by the shoulders, he shook the unresponsive man. "Hulk! Wake up in there, you big dumb ape! C'mon, get angry, it's the only thing you're good at!" When nothing happened, he raised a hand as if to strike him.
"Wait!" And Spiderman grabbed Stark's wrist, dropping down to be with them. "While he's like this, maybe we can perform a tracheotomy!"
"There's no time for...!" Tony stopped, blinking. He then quickly reached out and plucked something from Spiderman's belt, coming away with a small plastic tube.
"Hey!" the Wall-Crawler yelped indignantly. "That's mine!"
"Quiet!" Stark shushed him. Unscrewing the tube's top, he then tilted Bruce Banner's head slightly to the side and powered a clear liquid into his mouth.
Before their eyes, the green adhesive simply evaporated into a pale viridian mist that smelled faintly of rotten eggs. Stark persisted in coaxing more of this serum down Banner's throat, when suddenly the ashen scientist sat bolt upright, coughing and spitting up gunk before drawing in a huge lungful of air. His eyes opened briefly, then rolled up into his head, and he promptly passed out once more, gasping and wheezing but otherwise no worse for wear.
His rescuer blew out a relieved laugh. "What do you know? It worked! This is the solvent Spidey uses to dissolve his webbing whenever he needs to. Figured it might do the trick here. Best of all, while it might not win any blue ribbons, it's 100% non-lethal!"
"How did you know that?" Spiderman demanded suspiciously. "Have you been spying on me? Did you steal some of my leftover webbing? The nerve! I'll sue!"
"No, I studied news footage. And paid the cops for samples." As the slender superhero blustered beside him, Tony slumped back in relief. "Be grateful. It's the only thing that saved Hulk's life."
"Hmph." Spidey did not sound very convinced. He peering mistrustfully around. "Guess Ulfie really did a number on him. Where is he?"
"Good question," Stark mused. "Clint, what happened? Where are the Ultrons?"
The archer had regained his feet and now stood guard over them, an arrow notched and ready to let fly. "No clue. It's just Ultron-5."
"What? One Ultron did all this? That's hard to bel…"
A glower from the archer forestalled any further comment. "Don't let your guard down, he could be anywhere. Sucker's using Pym Particles to alter his size. Plus he's got some self-repair function the others didn't. Though that last hit from Thor looked pretty permanent. Maybe we can wear him down piece by piece? A finger here, a foot there, and soon it's just spare parts scattered all throughout the room."
Spiderman shifted restlessly. "I'm not picking up any signs of trouble. Maybe he left?"
"You wish, kid." Hawkeye then indicated over to where Ant Man lay. "In any case, take this chance to go help Henry. He could use a shot of that same stuff you gave Hulk."
"No problemo-WHOAH!"
A thin red beam sliced through the air. Had Spiderman still been standing there, it would have blown a hole in his brain. Instead the spindly hero exercised some pretty radical reflexes, leaping out of the way just in time and adhering to the wall. Clint spun and fired towards the spot where the blast had come from, but even before the arrow was halfway to its mark he could tell it would hit nothing. Ultron-5 had already vanished. Blast! Without Henry to counter him in mini-mode, were they all about to be picked off at the mad robot's leisure?
Right then Wasp stood up. She took several steps forward to stand by herself.
'Hurts so much... no, I have to get up, have to stop Ultron...!'
Hank's voice now rang clear in her mind. She had figured it out. It was Ulfie. At least, indirectly. He had activated that bug-telepathy deal mentioned earlier, and now its effects were showing up. The only other person attuned to insects nearby happened to be Henry. With his helmet, he could receive her thoughts and transmit his own. How creepy and disturbing is it to share space in our heads with each other like this?
Still, there was nothing more chilling than what she had walked into here. Bruce Banner shuddered and wheezed piteously at their feet. He had almost died right in front of her. Steve Rogers lay unmoving farther off and might actually be dead, she couldn't be sure. Henry looked to be in incredible pain. With one hand clutching his shoulder, he remained hunched over with his feet stuck to the floor.
All signs of Ulfie's love for me.
Wasp considered this. Maybe he actually can experience love in spite of being a robot. But if so, it's the most primitive, single-minded expression possible. More like a crush, the sort felt by teenage girls when they're too young and inexperienced to consider what's right or wrong about it. All-consuming affection, expressed in ways that make sense only to the person feeling it. Ulfie's words after the decimation of the robot army came back to her: 'They did not appreciate you as I do'. Everyone who doesn't value the object of your obsession to the same extent as you becomes an enemy. That's why he can decimate his own family without concern, and plot the extinction of my whole race. Because he loves only me. No one else matters. He's honestly willing to kill all my friends. Not just the ones here, but everybody I care about.
Strangely enough, this helped to put things into perspective for her. Fate of the world? The big picture? Forget it. Anything taken to an extreme is evil. Even love. Because of that, I'm the only person who can stop him. If the human race is to have a future, I've got to put an end to this. I'm willing to risk it all.
"Ulfie?" she spoke to empty air. "Show yourself." Wasp closed her eyes and breathed deeply, waiting to find out if he would comply with her wishes this much.
A gasp from Tony, and she had her answer. Looking up, Wasp found Ultron-5 regarding her from the middle of the room. One of his hands was crumpled and ruined, but when he flexed the fingers, she could see there really was some kind of repair work going on there. Maybe we could wear him down. But with his new functions, even a shot to the head might not be enough to finish this. And in the time it takes to find out, who might die as a result?
On her left she caught a glimpse of Spiderman edging his way along the wall towards where Henry remained incapacitated. Ultron-5 looked towards him, and the webslinger froze. When Thor appeared ready to commence their battle, she held up a hand.
"Stop fighting. This isn't necessary."
'Jan, what are you doing?'
"Jan," Ant Man coughed, "What are you d-?"
Shut up, Hank.
To her relief, he did. For a few seconds there all she got from him was shock. Maybe he actually heard me that time? Good. That's just what I needed to know.
"I can't let this go on," she spoke over him to cover up the telepathy. "If you try to attack, Ulfie will kill you. So just stop." Glancing over at Spiderman, Wasp said, "Go ahead and get Henry loose. You've got my permission."
Ultron-5 did not take his eyes off the hesitant arachnid. "Janet…"
"Don't worry about him," Wasp insisted. "He's not important right now. Only you and I can work this out." When his burning gaze remained focused on Spiderman, Wasp whispered, "Please don't ignore me, Ulfie."
His head shifted at that, very slight, very quick. And she knew exactly what he was thinking: 'Like him. Don't ignore me like Henry Pym does. Be better than him. Be worthy of me in the ways he isn't. Prove your superiority!'
Jan started walking towards Ulfie. He remained where he stood, waiting for her, and she tried hard to picture Hank standing there. It made her remember the good things about Dr. Henry Pym: how he tried so hard to help others, how he was incapable of balancing a checkbook, how he could be so blissfully happy chatting with ants and termites and roaches. And most of all, how he cared about her, since the first day they met. All that had gone into Ultron. How could this be the result?
Maybe some of what she was feeling showed in her face and body, because Ulfie disregarded the other Avengers to focus only on her. He had no facial expressions, but that didn't stop him from looking almost eager to her eyes. She knew he was recording and analyzing everything about her right now, from her movements right down to her body heat. And what he was seeing had to look similar to the devotion that she felt for his arch-rival.
He's progressed so far. The only weakness he has is how much I understand him.
Spidey made his way over to Ant Man without incident and administered another dose of the solvent. In moments Hank was free, good arm draped over him as they began to retreat. She was standing toe-to-toe with Ulfie now. The big robot filled her field of vision as he gazed down on her. This is it. "I've made my decision."
Hank, if you really can hear this, cough twice.
"What have you decided, Janet?" Ultron-5 asked.
Gotta keep him focused on me.
She then suddenly crossed the final distance between them and embraced the robot, pressing herself against his chest. The other Avengers seemed struck dumb by this action.
And from behind, there came a double cough.
Okay, Hank, listen and don't argue. Tell Spidey to…
"This is what I want," Janet murmured. She tried not to shiver. The metal of his body was so cold, it felt like wrapping her arms around a block of ice. Hard to believe there's a heart in there somewhere beating just for me. It became somewhat more plausible when Ulfie slowly reached up and took her into his arms. He spoke then, and the words made her shiver.
"Then you shall have it," he said, and brought his hand up to cup her chin.
'Jan, I'm ready.'
Wish me luck.
Janet Van Dyne looked up into Ultron-5's eyes and smiled.
Some guys you just have to show them the door.
There came a blue flash.
Immediately Henry Pym shrank down, and Spiderman flung him through the air like a miniature missile. After this the Wall-Crawler spun, firing his web-shooters at every male Avenger in the room.
Ultron-5 stared at the woman slumped weakly in his embrace. His hold on her had not altered. Both remained in the same position as before. The only difference was… each of them now stood less than an inch in height.
Upon accessing his molecular enhancer to address this situation, Ultron-5 received a surprise: his supply of Pym Particles had been completely exhausted. That had not been the case only a moment past. Looking up, the intelligent machine picked out something else: a half-sized Henry Pym, hanging off the hangar door controls. Even as this fact became clear, shrill sirens alerted him to the reality that the bay was opening again. His remote commands could not override the manual system. The rest of the Avengers were caught in Spiderman's webbing and consequently safe.
I understand, Janet.
A second later everyone not tied down in that room was blown off their feet and hurtling towards the vacuum of the Negative Zone.
The fact that they were soaring along towards certain destruction told Jan it had worked, and without hesitation she slid out of Ulfie's hold. As soon as she was certain of freedom, Wasp reengaged the size of her namesake. This proved harder than she was accustomed to, a sign of just how much her wild stunt had cost. But it worked!
Wings now a blur, Wasp fought against the pull of inertia, only to find it wasn't enough. She still couldn't stop her straight and true flight towards the great antimatter outdoors. Once again, wind pressure gets the best of me. Those smarmy news anchors were right after all.
Farther ahead, Ulfie was attempting to use his boot jets to escape the same fate. But in his current condition, they didn't have nearly enough power to overcome the force of the vacuum. Even as she fought unsuccessfully to save herself, Wasp could not look away from his fruitless struggle for survival. Did it seem like he was reaching out for her, even now?
It's over, Ulfie. Looks like you and I are through.
'JAN! BEHIND YOU!'
Henry's thoughts alerted her, and she looked back in time to see the arrow coming. It passed close by, trailing a rope in its wake. Instinctively Wasp grabbed hold of this lifeline and held on for all she was worth. Dangling on the very cusp of oblivion, one thing stood out above all others in her mind: I have to make certain!
She turned her head, just in time to watch the tiny speck that was Ultron-5 go tumbling out the doors of Solution 42. He made no sound as he went. A few seconds after disappearing from her sight completely, Janet saw a pinprick flare up in bright incandescence as it was overtaken by the antimatter-matter reaction. The last Ultron became a tiny star against the backdrop of the Negative Zone.
Bye, Ulfie, she thought. Then, He's dead! Shut the door!
As soon as she thought it, there came a sickening sensation completely unlike the disorientation from before. Oh, crap! Out of Pym Particles! Just then Janet found herself once more at regular human size. In doing so, she lost her grip on the arrow, and shot backwards without any means to prevent herself. The portal was nearly shut, but she was already too close. The great beyond reared up before her.
Hank, I love...
Something hit her in the back, and Wasp snapped to a halt, only to go bouncing back and forth in a nauseating yo-yo fashion. She almost tossed her cookies as a result. Instead all that happened was a graceless fall to the ground as the opening finally shut in front of her with a hollow boom and gravity reasserted itself.
For a while she just sat there, feeling both exhausted and exhilarated. Come to think of it, that was a pretty crazy plan. Maybe I should have thought it over some more?
Any issues of hindsight faded as she suddenly found Henry at her back, his uninjured arm wrapped around her in a possessive fashion. "Jan," he rasped, "Jan, Jan, Jan, don't… don't ever…" Apparently nothing else could get out. Grateful just for the chance to be like this, she reached up and patted his hand, not saying a word as she continued to stare at the blank wall before them.
Unfortunately, some others were more than willing to make up for the lack of conversation.
"WOW! Did you see that? How cool am I, huh? That must have been a one in a million shot! I mean, I snagged her right at the last second! Wasn't that awesome? C'mon, who's got web shooters, uncanny clinging abilities and doesn't have on clean underwear? This guy, right here!" Spidey exclaimed proudly while jabbing a thumb at himself, still holding onto the line of webbing that had saved Wasp with his feet firmly affixed to the floor.
"Hey, Laughing Boy!" Hawkeye called from back down the hall. "Don't break your arm patting yourself on the back, at least not before you get this FLIPPIN' WEBBING OFF ME!"
"So…" Tony Stark attempted to crane his head around from where he too was glued down by Spiderman's helpful efforts. "Who wants to explain what just happened? Because I didn't see everything."
"Oh. Well, it was rather brilliant, actually." Ant Man had apparently recovered himself at the prospect of providing a scientific explanation. Oddly enough, it made her want to hug him tighter, a feeling previously unknown in that regard. "You see, Pym Particles normally work in a series of chain reactions to produce size changes. Activate one and it will precipitate a corresponding response from any others in the vicinity, after which they all become inert. That's why, if two people have been exposed to the particles, and one undergoes a further size change while touching the other person, the second subject will be brought along for the ride, using up an even amount between the two. Their particles respond to one another. In Janet's case, she controls her size alterations at will, not mechanically like I do. As a result of the modifications to her genetic code, her bloodstream contains unique Pym Particles attuned to render changes from wasp to human size and do not become inert in the process, meaning she can switch back and forth however many times she wants. In essence they recycle themselves, it's all very exciting if you…"
"Hank…" Wasp sighed.
"What?" he looked at her blankly, then seemed to realize it for himself. "Was I going into too much detail?" She nodded, and he gave an abashed grin that made her feel warm all over. "Sorry. Anyway, as I was saying, while Jan's particles are uniquely designed, they can still function as regular Pym Particles that can achieve anywhere between microscopic or gargantuan proportions, provided she exerts a spectacular show of will. However, since she has no means to precisely control the amount used, doing so ends up using virtually all the particles in her body at once. Considering how many she produces, that's quite a lot. Janet realized that since Ultron-5 had been using his growth method constantly during the battle, he was probably running low. Since she has so many of them in her system, if Jan consciously activated all her own particles while touching him, the chain reaction precipitated in them both would no doubt gobble up his entire remaining stockpile, rendering him incapable of returning to regular size. After that he would be unable to save himself if he tried to expose the hangar again, robbing him of his most dangerous weapon at the time. Like I said, it was a strategically brilliant move!"
"Not bad for a gal with a business degree, huh?" she murmured.
"Not bad for anyone," he corrected with a smile, touching her face gently. She refused to think of the person who had done the same thing only minutes past, preferring to save those thoughts for later. Then Henry hugged her tighter. "But dangerous, Jan! You were almost killed! There was no way to know if you would have enough Pym Particles left to make it possible for us to catch you! Please promise me you'll never do something that risky again!"
Now that's the man I know. "I promise," and she leaned back against him, feeling quite drained. "I don't think there'll ever be a good enough reason again."
Against the far wall, Captain America stirred and lifted his head. He peered blearily about, only noticing the webbing holding him down when he tried to rise. After some ineffectual tugging, he finally looked out across the room and asked, "Is it over?"
Wasp stood up shakily, dragging Henry with her. She looked at him for a moment, then reached up and slid back his mask before kissing him in a hot, hasty and completely necessary fashion. It was sort of aggravating how he never saw it coming. And sweet, too. When this was accomplished to her satisfaction, she turned to survey the remains of their team.
"Yes. It's over."
To be continued…